Spring shade-roller



(No Model.)

11-. E. KEMPSTEBJ.

SPRING SHADE ROLLER.

No. 295,875. Patented Mar. 25.18.84;

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Rs Phola'Lilhugnphar, Washin tan. D. C.

Umrn STATES ATENI Fries;

DANIEL E. KEMPSTER, or

BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS.

SPRING SHADE-ROLLER.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 295,875, dated March 25, 1884.

Application filed October 4, 1883. (No modehi ton, in the county of Suffolk and State of Massachusetts, have invented certain new and useful Improvements'in Spring Shade-Rollers; and I do hereby declare that the same are fully described in the following specification and illustrated in the accompanying drawings.

My invention relates to that class of spring shaderollers which are adapted for use with weighted shades, the spring serving to wind up the shade'on the roller when such shade is raised and relieved of its weight, said weight serving to counterbalance the spring when the shade is at rest.

My invention consists in an improvement on the construction and arrangement of the devices shown and described in. United States Patent numbered 251,893, granted to me J anuary 8, 1882. Therein a loose corrugated locking'piece or cylinder engages with the inside of a hard-wood end cap and a cam fast upon the spindle, thus forming a lock when the roller is removed from its brackets. Said patent shows and claims a spindle-cam havingthe shade, hence I do not claim them now.

My present improvement consists in forming the loose locking-piece of such shape as to give a more extended frictional bearing-surface on the inside of the end cap, and thus secure a more positive look. I also give to it t such shape as to make it heavier than heretofore, so that it will gravitate and remain in its suitably constructed pocket without being liable to be jarred into engagement while operating the shade-roller in its brackets. In

my former patent referred to, when strong springs were used for heavy shades, the loose locking-piece I, owing to its small surface or diameter, was liable to be wedged or deeply embedded into the inside of the end cap by the cam under the force of the spring on "the removal of the roller from its brackets, and thus making it difficult to draw the shade down when the roller was again placed in its brackets. My present locking device overcomes this difiiculty, as the locking-piece I is formed with a large surface for contact with the cap in locking. This I accomplish by making the outer contacting edge of the locking-piece I on a circle, the radius of which is the distance from its outer edge to its pivot-point orcenter of oscillation near the spindle, thus making the locking-piece I equal to a locking roll or contain or pocket in a spindle-cam of the proper size.

My improvement further consists in forming lugs on the spindle-cam, and placing thereon a suitably-shaped friction disk of felt or other fibrous material, thus forming a friction-bean ing for the cap to turn upon. In my former patent the hardwood end cap was bored a loose running fit for the spindle. Said caps were liable to shrink unequally, owing to the grain of the wood, and close the hole or make it out of round so as to bind thespindle. Gonsequently, to avoid this trouble, it has been necessary to bore the hole in the cap large and make a very loose fit on the spindle. This tle or pound when being revolved, and the concussion often jars the locking-piece I up out of its pocket sufficient to engage the rapidly-revolving cap, thus being liable to break or injure its parts. I'have overcome this objectionable feature by forming lugs j j on the face of the cam and placing thereon a disk, J, of fibrous material, closely'filling the bore of the end cap. The disk is stationary on the spindle and the cap revolves thereon. Now, if the cap shrinks out of round, it does no harm, as the fibrous disk yields or conforms to the shape and causes the shade-roller to recylinder of double the diameter possible to looseness, especially if the hole shrinks a little out of round, causes theshade-roller to ratvolve smoothly and noiselessly without any liability of throwing the lock out of its pocket by jar. The disk also gives additional friction and helps the spring to sustain the weight of the shade.

Referring to the accompanying drawings, Figure 1 is an elevation,partly in section. Fig. 2 is a transverse vertical section on the line V V, shown in Fig. 1, showing the position of the locking device when the roller is in operation in its brackets. Fig. 3 is a similar view, show ing the roller as removed from its brackets and the spring locked. Fig. 4 is a side elevation of the frictiondisk.

In the drawings, A is a shade-roller having a hard-wood end cap, A, and a spindle, B, with a lip, 12, which rests in brackets G, the opposite end of said roller having a journal, at, which rests in bracket D, having i'rictionbearing d.

- E is a spiral spring, whose opposite ends are secured to the roller and spindle, respectively.

F is a shade secured to the roller, and G is a weighted slat or bottom stick attached thereto.

H is a cam with sides h h and pocket 0, secured fast upon the spindle B.

I is the loose locking-piece.

J is the friction-disk, andjj the lugs on the cam for holding said disk from revolving. The lip 12 fits into a corresponding cavity in the bracket, and thus holds the cam right side up, as shown in Fig. 2, the loose locking-piece being held out of engagement in its pocket. On removing the roller from its brackets the spring causes the spindle to revolve, and the piece I drops or oscillates from the position shown in Fig. 2, and assumes that shown in Fig. 3, thus locking the roller and spindle together. It will be seen that the point or center of oscillation of the piece I is the rounded corner i, thus giving a large radius and an, extended bearing-surface on its outer edge. The seat or point of the cam on which the rounded corner 1' is pivoted is eccentric to the spindle of the cam. Thus as the locking-piece I oscillates it is caused to engage or disengage the inside of the cap A, as shown in Figs. 2 and 3. A washer, K, is interposed between the disk J and the inner side of the cap A.

The shape of the locking-piece I may be changed, or the corrugations dispensed with, and the pivotal point or seat on the cam H may be changed, brought in contact with the spindle B, or even made nearer to the center of the spindle. All this may be done without departing from the spirit of my invention.

IVhat I claim as my invention is- 1. In a spring shade-roller, the combination of the spindle B,= provided with a lip, I), earn H, having lugs j j, locking-piece I, frictiondisk J, washer K, and cap A, all constructed and arranged substantially as set forth.

2. In a spring shade-roller having a fibrous friction-disk inside its end cap, the combination therewith of an oscillating locking-piece, operating, substantially as described, within the bore of the cap, to prevent the spring from unwinding when the roller is removed from its brackets.

3. A spring shade-roller having a spindle 

